A Doorman's Eye View of Holiday Tipping

MANHATTAN'S front men -- doormen and concierges -- see the Christmas tip (cash only, please, and tucked into a card) as one person's thank-you to another for a year's worth of service that only a doorman can offer, or withhold, so well.

Interviews with more than two dozen doormen around the city revealed one unanimous claim: all residents are created equal. But it's a large tip that secures special favors; meager tips -- or no tips at all -- do not. And doormen keep tabs on who tips what.

''I remember the generous ones,'' said a doorman at 1049 Park Avenue, who would not give his name. ''For some residents I go well above the call of duty.''

A renter on West 86th Street, who to protect his privacy refused to be identified, said, ''Tipping works like magic.'' He gives the superintendent $100, his doormen $75 each and the handyman $50, plus tips throughout the year. ''When I call my super, he is at my apartment in a snap,'' the renter said. He recalled one neighbor, a lawyer, who never tipped: ''They used to call and call and never get service; they finally moved out. They gave up a rent-stabilized apartment because it didn't occur to them to tip.''

The happiest doormen get their tips given to them, face to face, with a smile. ''They are thanking you for your own personal service,'' said John Cosme, a concierge at 2373 Broadway.

Which comes first, the service or the tip? ''The large tip comes after the service, not before,'' said Vincent Garcia, a doorman at London Terrace Towers in Chelsea.

Sometimes money buys silence. Discretion can be a form of exquisite service -- think four stars. ''It's usually the ones with a lot of secrets that dish out the tips,'' said Tipu Hasan Ahmed, a concierge at 201 West 72d Street. ''We know the girlfriends, the family.''

The doorman at 1049 Park Avenue, recalls the best tip he ever got: $1,000. ''One of the residents was having some legal troubles, and the F.B.I. came to the building to arrest him,'' he said. ''They were doing their job, and I was doing mine. I wouldn't let them into the building.''

At the Chelsea Hotel, the residential hotel on West 23d Street, the biggest tippers are the bachelors, who may tip as much as $500, said Stanley Bard, the director. ''They require a lot of service. Laundry. Looking out for the mail.''

Though doormen say they treat everyone equally, whether or not they tip, they can hear the sound of no bills falling. Of the 300 families at 201 West 70th Street, Pedro Castro, a concierge, said, ''100 don't tip.''

Doormen admit that the unsung heroes are the porters and the handymen. In buildings that have set up a pool for holiday tips, they are insured of getting some yearly applause. At Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, there are 260 apartments and 45 staff members. ''I give $5,000 to the pool,'' said Donald J. Trump, the building's developer and one of its residents, ''and other people give a check, between $1,000 to $2,000.'' The total is at least $100,000 divided into equal tips of about $2,000 each.

Andy Hernandez, a doorman at 1025 Fifth Avenue, dislikes pools. ''We prefer individual tipping,'' he said. ''Because we have seniority, we get double what others get. A newer guy may get $25; we get $50.'' Other doormen who care -- and show it -- resent those who don't work hard and get the same tip.

What most doormen want is what everyone else wants. ''The kinder you are, the nicer people are back,'' said Martin Agbayani, a doorman at Mayfair Towers on West 72d Street.

At the Archives building on Greenwich Street, Kim Crowell, a resident, rushed in the front door and handed Carlos Irizarry, a lobby attendant, a cup of coffee. ''I bring him coffee,'' Ms. Crowell said. ''I bring him Snapple.''

Why?

''He'll open the elevator when I have the dogs -- he'll open the front door,'' Ms. Crowell said.

Mr. Irizarry understands life's bigger paybacks.

''If you don't treat me nice, I'll treat you better,'' he said. ''I don't want to make an enemy for a year.''

The Where And the What

IN a very random sampling, Manhattan doormen said most tips ranged from $10 to $100. Here's what they admitted to -- or complained about.